India land row 'stops polio jabs'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/6383565.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Thousands of children in the Indian state of West Bengal cannot receive polio vaccines because of unrest over industrialisation plans, officials say.

The children live in villages which were at the centre of pitched battles over the state government's plans to acquire farmland for industry.

Villagers are unhappy over the move, saying it will affect their livelihood.

At least six people died last month in clashes between ruling party and opposition supporters over the issue.

Despite massive immunisation efforts, almost a third of all polio cases in the world occur in India.

'Stay away'

Officials say that they have been unable to give the polio vaccine to thousands of children because of violence in the areas of Nandigram and Khejuri, where the state government plans to acquire thousands of acres of cropland to set up an industrial area.

Violent clashes erupted in many places

State health officials say several thousand children in the troubled areas of Khejuri and Nandigram could not be given the vaccine on 11 February, the day millions of children received it across India.

The Chief Medical Officer of West Bengal's eastern Midnapore district, Arajit Chakrabarty, told the BBC that in many cases the villagers of Nandigram and Khejuri were so involved in the clashes that they asked government doctors to stay away.

In other places, Mr Chakrabarty said the camps used for administering the vaccine to a large number of children could not be set up because doctors and nurses were not feeling safe.

But he said that some of the villages in the troubled areas had received the vaccinations over the past two days after a more peaceful atmosphere was established following conciliatory meetings between rival political parties.

Polio cases have risen dramatically in India in recent years. In 2005 only 66 cases of polio were recorded in India, but there were more than 500 cases last year.

Vaccinating children is key to eradicating the disease, health officials say.

The disease, which attacks children under five years, affects the nervous system and can result in paralysis.

Although polio has no cure, it is easily preventable through vaccine.

'Hub'

Nandigram and Khejuri witnessed fierce clashes between communist and opposition supporters over the past fortnight.

Guns, locally-made bombs, swords and spears were all used. A police official died in the clashes.

West Bengal's ruling communists say that the 15,000 acres of farmland they want to acquire will become "a hub for chemical plants", including a ship-breaking industry and a special economic zone involving two Indian and one Indonesian company.

The opposition is resisting the move, alleging that the project will result in a significant loss of livelihood for local peasants.